Hey qwerty love the story so far. Bits are a tad hard to follow as they are large tracts of text, if you want to email me what you have written i can experiment with different layouts to make it easier to read. Email it to me at [email protected]

Religious war at its very simplest is killing each other over who has the best imaginary friend.

Light a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day.
Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

should i end it? i mean, I'd like to have ninjas and australia and mexican banditos, but i feel like what I'm trying to write now isnt good. let me know what you think.

The feast they had in the galley was one to remember. Hector had cooked up the greatest variety and best Pasta Pete had ever eaten! There was even enough for the entire crew. Pete did make an announcement, simply saying Ushnor was to be first mate, and Hector to be second. â€œactually, sir-a. I would-a like-a to just-a be-a the chef-a if-a ye donâ€™t mind-aâ€ Hector asked Pete. â€œarr. Ah suppose Thartâ€™ll be fer thar best. But ah Shall be needinâ€™ a second mate, yâ€™know, jarst in case.â€ And thus did pete recite the holy incantation: Ennie, menny, minny, moe, cartch a tiger by thar toeâ€¦ ifâ€™n â€˜e hollers, let â€˜I'm go. Ennie, menny, minny, moe. â€œyou thar! Ya you! with thar necklace.â€ Pete called out. â€œIt's called blin' blin' fooâ€ he called out. â€œyar, whatever. Yeâ€™ll be me new second mate, get thar self upâ€™n here!â€ his name was smid. and then they ate. And it was good.That next morning, a shout came from the crowâ€™s nest. â€œLand Ho!â€ a loud murmer arose from the ship. All the pirates had been tired of regular sea hoâ€™s, and they were ready for some action. â€œquiet ya' foo'sâ€ â€œya maroonâ€™s! he be meaning â€˜e can see thar panama! Dinna ye eva take geography?â€ â€œyeah. Right On! dun didn't ya' eva' snatch geography. Right On!â€ Smid said, â€œuh... whuts geo'graphy?â€ â€œyour face if ye donâ€™t shut up.â€ Ushnor said, motioning at his hammer. â€œoh, right, so'ry man, ah' plum gots some little carried away. Slap mah fro!â€ another yell came from the crowâ€™s nest â€œThereâ€™s a small ship running the white flag! Whatâ€™d we do, capâ€™n?â€ â€œlet â€˜em come close. Ahâ€™ll talk wart em.â€It was a very small ship, built only for two, and one had a message. â€œtelegram from Mr. Frightening Pirate Paul. â€œget to Australia now stop.â€ â€œarrgh.â€ Pete said, and with that, he steered into the panama canal, and the messenger went back to land. â€œwhoâ€™s Frightening Pirate Paul?â€ Ushnor asked. â€œhe be me third cousin, lives in thar Australia. Got a in a little bad company, but ah assumernd â€˜e was clean now. Ah aint so sure now.â€Suddenly, they heard a loud â€œbangâ€ from the north end of the canal, and a few Mexicans came rushing toward the boat. They crashed into Pete, Ushnor, Hector, and two other pirates, and sent them flying to the southern end of the canal. â€œWHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT FOR?â€ Pete shouted at the ship. â€œÂ¡usted puede tener su carribean, pero, los bandidos mejicanos del canal, gobernaremos los mares un dÃ­a!â€ â€œarr, any oâ€™ ye speak spanish?â€ Pete asked the two pirates, they shook their heads. â€œblast, lerts get to thar beach, anâ€™ follow thar ship.â€Pete n co. find banditos cove. turns out something like some mystery pirate/criminal got there first, left FPP's ship. one mexican left, wimpy tho. then they go to australia, and stuff happens

i seriously amd thinking about ending it at the end of the last post. i dunno. also, the mexican bandito wouldn't be a first or second or third mate, he might later, but for now he just runs around taking orders and saying "AIEAIEAYE! CAPTIAN!"

I think you should keep going. You just need one more to have Boyardee turn evil threw Adkins, banish Adkins for 1000 years (when he well come back as a doctor) and have an epic battle with some ninjas with the help of Peteâ€™s brother.

Every good writer in the world started as a bad writer who learned how to edit.

Or became dan brown.

I think the story is great so far Qwerty and am interested to see where you are going to take it. Don't stop writing now!!! Take auntees suggestion as well, write down the story and then edit it later, that way you can look at how you've written it, and the flow of the story from a different perspective.

Good work though and keep it up.

Religious war at its very simplest is killing each other over who has the best imaginary friend.

Not only does every writer self-edit, every good writer then has an editor; or editors wouldn't have jobs. Stream-of-conciousness-style writing is a great place to start, and Qwerty, no one could argue that your mind does not generate good ideas, in quantity, quality, and originality.

Shaping those ideas comes with experience and help. Help is the hardest thing to get; NOT because people refuse to offer it ad naseum, but because WE ALL initially resist advice since it sounds like criticism. Criticism of writing is not criticism of a person. It's hard to separate the two. (Take that from me, a mostly-ex-ego-maniac who couldn't stand the least little bit of spell-checking.)

You'll get lots of great advice and encouragement on the boards, and you're surrounded by lots of people who can give it. (Auntie Dee Dee for one.) You obviously want to be a writer. How do I know? Because you're doing it. Don't stop. Here's a piece of advice my favorite college professor gave me, and at the time it sounded like the stupidest thing I'd ever heard: Writers write. (Even cowards like me, sitting on thousands of pages of unpublished screed. It's a calling.)

Well said Solipsy. Thats some of the best advice you could get Qwerty. Solipsy knows what she's saying. If you ever need to run ideas past people, Dee Dee, Solipsy and myself are on and about constantly and have far too little to occupy ourselves so feel free speak up.

Religious war at its very simplest is killing each other over who has the best imaginary friend.

here it is! finally, i finished up chapter seven. its another inbetweenquel, but it's got mexicans!

The feast they had in the galley was one to remember. Hector had cooked up the greatest variety and best Pasta Pete had ever eaten! There was even enough for the entire crew. Pete did make an announcement, simply saying Ushnor was to be first mate, and Hector to be second. â€œactually, sir-a. I would-a like-a to just-a be-a the chef-a if-a ye donâ€™t mind-aâ€ Hector asked Pete. â€œarr. Ah suppose Thartâ€™ll be fer thar best. But ah Shall be needinâ€™ a second mate, yâ€™know, jarst in case.â€ And thus did pete recite the holy incantation: Ennie, menny, minny, moe, cartch a tiger by thar toeâ€¦ ifâ€™n â€˜e hollers, let â€˜I'm go. Ennie, menny, minny, moe. â€œyou thar! Ya you! with thar necklace.â€ Pete called out. â€œIt's called blin' blin' fooâ€ he called out. â€œyar, whatever. Yeâ€™ll be me new second mate, get thar self upâ€™n here!â€ his name was smid. and then they ate. And it was good.That next morning, a shout came from the crowâ€™s nest. â€œLand Ho!â€ a loud murmer arose from the ship. All the pirates had been tired of regular sea hoâ€™s, and they were ready for some action. â€œquiet ya' foo'sâ€ â€œya maroonâ€™s! he be meaning â€˜e can see thar panama! Dinna ye eva take geography?â€ Pete yelled. â€œyeah. Right On! dun didn't ya' eva' snatch geography. Right On!â€ Smid said, â€œuh... whuts geo'graphy?â€ â€œyour face if ye donâ€™t shut up.â€ Ushnor said, motioning at his hammer. â€œoh, right, so'ry man, ah' plum gots some little carried away. Slap mah fro!â€ another yell came from the crowâ€™s nest â€œThereâ€™s a small ship running the white flag! Whatâ€™d we do, capâ€™n?â€ â€œlet â€˜em come close. Ahâ€™ll talk wart em.â€It was a very small ship, built only for two, and one had a message. â€œtelegram from Mr. Frightening Pirate Paul. â€œget to Australia now stop.â€ â€œarrgh.â€ Pete said, and with that, he steered into the panama canal, and the messenger went back to land. â€œwhoâ€™s Frightening Pirate Paul?â€ Ushnor asked. â€œhe be me third cousin, lives in thar Australia. Got a in a little bad company, but ah assumernd â€˜e was clean now. Ah aint so sure now.â€Suddenly, they heard a loud â€œbangâ€ from the north end of the canal, and a few Mexicans came flying toward the boat. They crashed into Pete, Ushnor, Smid, Hector, and two other pirates, and sent them flying to the southern end of the canal. â€œWHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT FOR?â€ Pete shouted at the ship. â€œÂ¡usted puede tener su carribean, pero, los bandidos mejicanos del canal, gobernaremos los mares un dÃ­a!â€ â€œarr, any oâ€™ ye speak Spanish?â€ Pete asked the two pirates, they shook their heads. â€œblast, lerts get to thar beach, anâ€™ follow thar ship.â€They walked along the beach for a while, and suddenly made it to the pacific ocean. â€œodd, Ah was excpectinâ€™ somethinâ€™ a lilâ€™ moreâ€¦ Exictirn. Arr well. which way did them banditos go?â€ Pete asked. â€œ'S coo', bro... ah' dink dey went dis wayâ€ Smid said, pointing south of the beach. They went south and found a path in the jungle. It was disgusting and dense. There were mosquitos everywhere. Pete would have gladly died, but at this moment of doubt, the flying spaghetti monster appeared unto Pete and his crew. â€œwhat the hell is wrong with you?â€ He asked. â€œwhart? Iâ€™m sorry, oh noodli warne. I know ah have to find me brother ahnd fightâ€™n Atkins warnce more.â€ â€œa-â€¦ how did you know youâ€™d have to face atkins again?â€ the FSM asked, startled at himself for being startled. â€œwell, ye sunk â€˜em, but Ahm bettinâ€™ â€˜es not dead yet.â€ â€œvery perceptive, Pete.â€ â€œyar, but I be thinkinâ€™ ye could get us to thar pirate cove sooner? Me legs arr killinâ€™ me.â€ â€œof course Pete.â€ And with that, the mighty FSM vanished, and in his place came the pirate cove, with Peteâ€™s ship, and a building, apparently for the banditos. It was also on fire. They walked down a path that was not on fire. There was no sign of life, but soon they heard a whimper. â€œQuiet yar.â€ Pete said as he tip-toed to a bush where the whimpering was coming from. He poked it with his sword. â€œAIE!!!!â€ a Mexican jumped out, screaming. â€œaie! What was that for?â€ he asked, rubbing his bum. â€œWere you-a tha one-a who stole-a our-a ship-a?â€ Hector asked. â€œplease, donâ€™t hurt mi! mi only â€˜ere because ellos woulda kill me!â€ â€œhmmâ€¦ whaddayar think mateys?â€ Pete asked. â€œwell, judging by his wimpyness, Iâ€™d say heâ€™s telling the truth.â€ Ushnor responded. â€œsheeit, ah' dunno, I'd keep him, dat way we kin see if he's tellin' de trud o' not. if not... heh, sheeit, ya' know.â€ Added smid. â€œI-a still-a donâ€™t know-a if-a heâ€™s-a lyin-aâ€¦â€ Hector said, still uncertain. â€œwell whart about ye pirates?â€ Pete asked, they agreed with Ushnor and smid. â€œyar, tisâ€™ settled then. Ye can come with us.â€ Pete said. He leaned in closer to him, â€œbut if yar so murch as looks mutinousâ€¦â€ Pete let the bandito imagine what would happen. â€œSi, seÃ±or.â€ â€œgerd. Now then, wharts yar name?â€ Pete asked. â€œRaul.â€ â€œis there anything we might need in the building?â€ Ushnor asked. â€œcome to think of it, what did happen here?â€ â€œwell, el infierno persigue came and killed Juan.â€ â€œyour-a captin-a?â€ Hector asked Raul. â€œsi, all de banditos went with â€˜im. Mi so scared, I hid in bush.â€ â€œwho be dis inferno pedi-sump'n foo'?â€ smid asked. â€œel- el infierno persigue es mucho feared pirate. Heâ€™s name means, me think... Hell Hound.â€ Raul explained. â€œheâ€™s another spanish bandito?â€ asked Ushnor. â€œno, he come from de west.â€ Raul said. â€œyar, you two, start settinâ€™ up thar ship.â€ Pete said, pointing at the two generic pirates, â€œUshnor anâ€™ Hector, search the area fer anythanâ€™ useful. Smid, help thar pirates with thar ship.â€ They all nodded and went to their duties, â€œyou, Raul, come with me to thar map room. Weâ€™ll find thars hell-dude.â€

next chapter should be a bit faster paced. we'll get to another continent. and the idenity mysterious hell-hound will be revealed

if anyone knows who it is, don't give it away. i know one of you knows.

daftbeaker wrote:But if I stop bugging you I'll have to go back to arguing with Qwerty about whether beauty is truth and precisely what we both mean by 'purple'

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